Celebratory gunfire sends men ducking for cover

CLAYTON COUNTY, Ga. — Two men said they had to duck for cover in their home after celebratory gunshots hit their house.

“I’ve never been through an experience like that before,” said Dwight Dodge.

Dodge and Marco Ambrize weren’t looking for an exciting experience to ring in the New Year. They said they wanted to take it easy and watch the ball drop from home.

“We thought the safest place to be New Year’s night would be right here,” said Ambrize.

That was the case until they heard a loud clash. A bullet flew through their window.

“My first reaction was to duck and cover,” Ambrize said.

He was on the couch sitting next to Dodge.

“He probably would have been hit or it would have been flying over our heads,” explained Dodge.

The window’s metal pane stopped it from possibly hitting them. As they ducked, they called 911 and waited for the gun shots to stop before moving back into the living area.

“Just after the shots were fired, I came out here to assess the damage and looked out and ‘boom, boom, boom.’ I ran back in and ducked,” said Ambrize.

When a Clayton County police officer arrived, the gunshots picked up again.

“As she was sitting on the balcony with us, it spooked us all and made her jump,” Ambrize said of the officer’s reaction to the gunshots.

They think the shots were coming from the apartments across the way and not from the sky based on the hole the bullet left.

They both said they know they were lucky.

“We’re very fortunate. If it hadn’t been at midnight and had it been six minutes before, I probably would have been outside sitting in that chair,” said Dodge.

Two more officers came to their house and they had their guns drawn. They did not see police make any arrests and after searching on their balcony and the area below, they were not able to find the bullet that ricocheted off the window to see what type of gun may have fired it.

WSBTV